Nominees' lives and work seem to be reflective of this
year's theme, "Embrace, Encourage and Empower."

"We are excited to release to the public our 2013 slate
of grand marshal nominees, whose work aligns with San Francisco Pride's mission
and our LGBT community's values," Pride board President Lisa Williams
stated.

Grand marshals typically appear in the Pride Parade and take
part in other activities. In addition to individual community grand marshal
there is an organizational community grand marshal. A pink brick prize also
usually goes to a detractor of the LGBT community.

Individual community grand marshal

Individual community grand marshal nominee Mario Benton
, 47, said he's produced the Soul of Pride float for
five years, among other accomplishments, and describes himself as a community
leader. His work has included helping high-risk and foster care youth.

His nomination signifies that one can be a leader "no
matter what struggles or challenges you may face or you may have had in the
past," Benton, who's gay, said.

Solange Darwish

Solange Darwish, who
is part of the family that's owned the Cove Cafe on Castro since 1972, said she
was "shocked" at her nomination.

"I don't think I do anything for the community that
warrants this," said Darwish, 63, a straight ally who came on board at the
434 Castro Street eatery in 1988. "I just have had this restaurant for
many years and felt part of the community."

She acknowledges the history she's seen, though, especially
since so many in the neighborhood succumbed to AIDS throughout the 1980s and
90s.

"I've been here so long, and known so many people that
have passed on, and people that are still around," said Darwish, who's
donated to many LGBT causes and thrown several benefits over the years.

Veronika Fimbres

Veronika Fimbres,
60, a trans woman, said she'd like to have her parents ride down Market Street
with her in the parade. She said it would show transgender people who don't
have family "that everybody's not thrown out on their ear" because
they're LGBT.

Fimbres, a licensed vocational nurse, was a veteran's
affairs commissioner for several years and worked at San Quentin State Prison.
As a member of the San Francisco HIV Health Services Planning Council, the
26-year HIV/AIDS survivor said in her bio that she allocated funding for the
first educational symposium to train providers to work with trans patients.

Jason Galisatus

Jason Galisatus, 19,
is the executive director of the Bay Area Youth Summit, which is also an
organizational grand marshal nominee.

The Stanford University sophomore, who is gay, hopes that if
he were chosen as a grand marshal, "it would send a message to youth and
hopefully encourage them and inspire them to get involved in the
community."

Michelle Kim

Michelle Kim, who is
24 and identifies as queer, said she's "very passionate about queer youth
activism and empowerment." At UC Berkeley, Kim co-founded a Queer Youth
Alliance. Through that group, she founded a statewide youth leadership
development program for low-income queer youth.

Nikolas Lemos

Nikolas Lemos, Ph.D.,
42, is the forensic laboratory director and chief forensic toxicologist at the
San Francisco Medical Examiner's office. He's also a clinical professor at the
UCSF School of Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Lemos, an out gay man, says he's been promoting diversity and equality within
San Francisco, UCSF, and the profession of forensic science for years.

"This is very thrilling for me," Lemos said of the
Pride recognition. "Incredible, actually. It makes everything worthwhile
to know that the community has honored me with this kind of nomination."

Amos Lim (Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland)

Amos Lim, who's 42
and identifies as gay, emigrated from Singapore to the United States in 1999 to
be with his husband, Mickey. The struggle to stay in the United States and have
his marriage recognized led Amos to co-found Out4Immigration, which works to
raise awareness about the discrimination same-sex binational couples face in
the U.S.

"If I am one of the grand marshals, I will be able to
shine a light on immigration reform and why we need inclusive immigration
reform," Lim said.

Bobbi Lopez (Photo: Rick Gerharter)

Bobbi Lopez, another
nominee, shares similar concerns. Lopez is a U.S. citizen who emigrated from
Mexico. She works with youth and families in the Tenderloin and Mission at La
Raza Centro Legal, Tenderloin Housing Clinic, and Service Employees
International Union Local 1021.

Lopez, who's 34 and identifies as queer, said in an email to
Pride that as a community grand marshal, she'd want to highlight "the
right to marry and the right to immigrate to the U.S. to find safety and
love." She said these struggles in the LGBT community "are paramount
for our equal rights."

Marlena (Photo: Rick Gerharter)

Through the longtime bar Marlena's, which she recently sold,
Marlena – also known as Garry
McClain – has given many nonprofits a place to raise money and have fun.

"It truly is a special honor to even be considered for
this," said Marlena, 73, whom many know as Absolute Empress XXV of San
Francisco, Marlena the Magnificent. "I'm overwhelmed. I'm full of warmth
from all the people who talk about it."

Paul Olsen

Paul Olsen, 58, has
supported thousands of volunteers in raising funds and awareness for the
HIV/AIDS and the LGBT communities. Among other positions he's held, Olsen is a
former executive director of Under One Roof and board member of San Francisco
Gay Men's Chorus.

"In my mind, I represent the people that are behind the
scenes," said Olsen, who's gay. "Most of my work in the community for
the last 20 years has been with volunteers who want to make a difference but
are largely overlooked. I think my role has been in supporting them."

Randall Schiller

A native San Franciscan, Randall Schiller
has seen a lot of history in the city.

"As a gay man, I am grateful for the opportunity to
have been able to work within my community for the past 40 years,"
Schiller, 64, said in a statement. "As a nominee for community grand
marshal I hope to bring a first hand account of the evolution of the LGBT
Movement and culture to everyone."

Among other achievements, Schiller, owner of Randall
Schiller Productions, was an original member of Beach Blanket Babylon and
fought against anti-gay zealot Anita Bryant.

William Walker

William Walker,
who's 33 and identifies as gay, has helped to spearhead numerous organizations
and initiatives to support the livelihoods of youth and their civic engagement.
He's also the student trustee for City College of San Francisco, which has been
struggling to stay open.

"I think being queer and being a person of color
demonstrates that we do have role models that are people of color doing
positive things in our community," Walker said.

Horizons' Roger Doughty

Organizational grand marshal nominees

Bay Area Youth Summit
seeks to empower LGBT and allied youth to make the difference in their communities
by taking a leading role in the fight against bullying.

Black Coalition on AIDS
provides health education, advocacy, and services to San Francisco's black
community and works to reduce health disparities. BCA didn't provide comment
for this story.

Horizons Foundation
aims to fuel the LGBT movement by increasing support for diverse Bay Area
nonprofits.

"We're both honored and thrilled by the
nomination," Executive Director Roger Doughty said in an email. "It's
been Horizons' privilege to serve the Bay Area's amazing LGBT community for 33
years, and Horizons' board, staff, and volunteers are truly grateful to be
considered for this special recognition."

For more than 25 years, Positive Resource Center
has been responding to the community's economic and
health care needs by providing services that address the current needs of
individuals disabled by HIV/AIDS or mental health conditions.

PRC Executive Director Brett Andrews said in a phone call
that the nomination is "very meaningful to us. ... We are here to serve
the community, and we've always said we'll be here for the community for as
long as the community needs us."

Pink brick

The Boy Scouts of America is nominated for banning gays.

Pope Francis could
be recognized for describing same-sex marriage as the work of the devil and a
"destructive attack on God's plan," according to Pride.

Rebecca Alitwala Kadagak, the Ugandan Parliament speaker, is being considered for a pink brick
for vowing to pass Uganda's "Kill the Gays bill," which seeks to make
acts of homosexuality punishable by death or life imprisonment.

Ballots may be cast at the following locations: 2 to 5 p.m.,
March 30 and April 13, Castro and 18th streets, San Francisco; 2 to 5 p.m.,
April 4, Ram Plaza at City College of San Francisco; and 7 to 11 p.m., April 5,
Bench and Bar, 510 17th Street, Oakland. Additional Bay Area polling places
will be announced soon.

Results from public polling will be reviewed and certified
by Pride's board during the week of April 15. Winners in each of the three
categories will be announced by the end of April.

In addition to the individual and organizational community
grand marshals that the public selects, the Pride Committee's electoral
college, which includes all past community grand marshals, selects a grand
marshal. Pride's membership and board will also make their own selections for
individual community grand marshals. There will be a total of up to five
additional individual honorees.

The 43rd annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and
celebration will be June 29-30. For more information, visit
http://www.sfpride.org.